Pocket Site Inspector

How to check: Stretch a string with a water-level / spirit level; walk on the bottom.

✔ Pass: Level within ½ in; footprints no deeper than ½ in; no loose soil or mud.

⚠ Red flag: Soft spots, uneven bottom, loose soil lumps, rubbish.

How to check: Check 3–4 in thick layer of 1:4:8 concrete or compacted brick-bat, level and clean.

✔ Pass: Even 3–4 in layer, set hard before steel is placed.

⚠ Red flag: Steel laid straight on soil; thin / patchy / dusty layer.

How to check: Measure both diagonals of each room/rectangle and the centre distances between columns.

✔ Pass: Diagonals equal within ½ in; column centres within ½ in of drawing; 3-4-5 test passes at corners.

⚠ Red flag: Diagonals differ by more than 1 in; any wall off the boundary line.

How to check: Count bars per drawing; check cover blocks under mesh; check column starter bars are tied, not just pushed in.

✔ Pass: Bar dia & spacing as drawn; 3 in (75 mm) cover blocks under; starter bars tied in a cage with 135° rings and lap ≈ 50× dia.

⚠ Red flag: Steel lying on soil; fewer bars than drawing; loose starter bars.

How to check: Look for the Grade 60 mark/mill stamp; check rust and mud; ask for the mill / invoice.

✔ Pass: Grade 60 (420 MPa), ribbed bars, only light surface rust, no oil or mud.

⚠ Red flag: Scaly flaking rust, plain / re-rolled bars, no stamp, bars that bend and don't spring back.

How to check: Measure with a tape: 3–4 in near column ends and beam supports, 6 in elsewhere; look at the hooks.

✔ Pass: Spacing as drawn; every hook bent 135° into the core with ≥ 3 in tail.

⚠ Red flag: Rings at 9–12 in; 90° hooks; rings only tied at some bars.

How to check: Check the gap between steel and shuttering on every face; blocks every 3 ft; slab bars on small blocks / chairs.

✔ Pass: Beams & columns ≥ 1.5 in (40 mm) all round; slabs ¾–1 in (20–25 mm) below; footings 3 in; nothing touching the shuttering.

⚠ Red flag: Bars touching shuttering; stones or bricks used as blocks; blocks missing on sides.

How to check: Check overlap length of joints, that joints are staggered, and top bars over supports sit on chairs.

✔ Pass: Lap ≥ 40–50× dia (e.g. 24 in for ½ in bar), staggered, never all at one section; top bars at drawn height.

⚠ Red flag: Short laps; all joints at the same place; top steel sunk to the bottom.

How to check: Check column bars run into the beam with closely spaced rings; shuttering is tight, propped, oiled and free of debris.

✔ Pass: Joint has closely-spaced rings; no gaps in shuttering; tie-wire clippings, wood and dust removed; props on firm bases.

⚠ Red flag: Rings missing in the joint; slurry leaking; props on loose bricks.

How to check: Cement bags sealed, fresh and lump-free; sand clean (rub it: no clay stains); crush ≤ ¾ in, washed.

✔ Pass: Named brand, bags intact and < 3 months old, no hard lumps; clean sharp sand; clean angular crush.

⚠ Red flag: Lumpy cement; muddy or salty sand; dusty or oversize crush.

How to check: Watch the mix: count bags per batch; sand and crush measured in a fixed box (not 'karahi' by eye).

✔ Pass: 1:2:4 (or 1:1.5:3 for columns/footings) by volume; no 'extra bucket of water' added later on the roof.

⚠ Red flag: Mixing by shovel-count; machine drum left running with water topped up; mix is soupy.

How to check: Fill a 12 in cone in 3 layers (25 taps each), lift straight up and measure how much the heap slumps.

✔ Pass: 3–4 in (75–100 mm) for slabs and beams; 2–4 in for columns; heap stays together.

⚠ Red flag: Over 5 in (runny), or collapses sideways; no test done at all.

How to check: Watch the pour: concrete should not drop more than 5 ft; poker vibrator or rod used in every layer; no pouring in rain.

✔ Pass: Vibrator used and withdrawn slowly; no honeycombs or exposed steel when the shuttering comes off; pour is continuous, no cold joints.

⚠ Red flag: Bare steel / honeycombing; pour stopped for hours; concrete thrown from the roof height.

How to check: Start curing 8–12 hours after the pour. Check the slab pond / wet hessian is still wet on days 3, 7, 14, 21 — mark the dates.

✔ Pass: Surface never dries out; slab ponded or covered with wet hessian for ≥ 14 days (21 in hot / dry weather); columns wrapped wet; props stay in the period you were told.

⚠ Red flag: Dry, whitish surface in summer sun; curing stopped after 3–5 days; shuttering removed early.

How to check: Hang a plumb bob from the top of the wall at corners and every 10 ft; measure the gap at the bottom.

✔ Pass: Out of plumb ≤ ¼ in per 10 ft (6 mm per 3 m); corners dead true.

⚠ Red flag: Wall leans or bellies; plaster being used to hide a crooked wall.

How to check: Measure 4 courses with a tape; remove a brick to check for hollow joints; check mortar mix 1:4.

✔ Pass: Joints 10–12 mm thick (max ½ in), fully filled on bed and sides; 4 courses ≈ 14 in total height for standard 9×4½×3 in brick.

⚠ Red flag: Joints over 15 mm to hide poor bricks; dry hollow joints; mortar rich in mud.

How to check: Tap two bricks together (should ring, not thud); check for cracks, over-burnt or under-burnt; bricks soaked 1–2 hours before laying.

✔ Pass: First-class, uniform red bricks, clear ring, soaked and wet-surface-dry at laying.

⚠ Red flag: Pink, crumbly or black over-burnt bricks; dry bricks sucking the water from mortar.

How to check: Stretch a string line / use a spirit level every 5 courses; look at vertical joints — they must not line up above each other.

✔ Pass: Courses level within ¼ in per 10 ft; stretcher/header bond with ≥ ¼ brick overlap; full bricks, not many half-bricks.

⚠ Red flag: Wavy courses; vertical joints in a straight line (weak 'running crack').

How to check: Check plinth and lintel bands run continuously; tie columns at corners and door/window edges; lintel resting ≥ 9 in on each side.

✔ Pass: Continuous bands at drawn levels; tie columns toothed into walls; no wall panel > 12 ft without a tie; lintel bearing ≥ 9 in.

⚠ Red flag: Bands stopped at openings; no vertical bars at corners; lintel bearing only 3–4 in.